Finding your dream wedding dress for less…

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I just received my dress today, a week earlier than expected. The dress is wonderful and came with two sashes! I did custom sizing, irremovable petticoat, bustle, and asked that the straps be removed. Then two weeks later I asked them to leave the straps. When I opened the package I checked for the straps first and they were there, a bit wider than I expected though. The dress isn’t as poofy as I would like, but I’ll just add a crinoline or something along those lines.
This is the dress on the web site:

This is the dress on me:

Back of the dress:

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The picture of the dress as a strapless isn’t loading correctly, unfortunately because I like it that way the best. There is even a little strap in the gown that helps your bust sit in the right place. Very happy with it.

Hi Girls
Just received my 2 dresses in the mail after 22 working days.
I also ordered a petticoat for the wedding dress, a jacket and a veil.
Note that in all the photos I haven’t ironed the dresses yet (in fact the photos were taken pretty much straight after taking it out of the shipping bag)!

The all important wedding dress first.
Structurally it is good, seams are done well, everything sits right and symmetrical which is the most important part! I think it is about 85% of the pictures. The missing 15% are:
– not enough folds in the waist area which makes it look less drawn in (and hence the skinny looking waist of the model!)
– embroidery not as fine and dense on the bust (but I actually prefer less embroidery!)
– size about 1/2inch too big. BUT this is fine as you need to take the dress to get it fitted again about 1mth before your wedding anyway (cause all brides lose weight before the wedding yea!!). I don’t think its possible to make a dress only off measurements and expect it to be perfect the first go.http://www.inweddingdress.com/style-de175.html

The evening gown.
I ordered “pink” off their colour chart and it is abit too bright but not the end of the world. Structurally its not as flattering as the wedding dress but its probably due to design rather than workmanship of the dress. Compared to the pictures I would say its 80% there. The missing 20% is:
– not quite the neckline as the photo, i.e its more flat and not as “V” as the photos
– the folds on the bust aren’t done too well, maybe an iron can fix it, not sure…
– the middle sash colour isnt matched well
– again size about 1/2 inch too big. BUT this is fine as per comment abovehttp://www.inweddingdress.com/style-bc099.html

Jacket.
Structurally it is OK and probably 95% close to the pictures. 5% missing is the neckline is too small, when I wear the jacket it looks like I’ve almost got a standing collar. However, the size way too small – the jacket is 3 inches too small in the bust (I ordered 36″ and in the pics you can see its 33″) and the shoulder is missing 2″ (I ordered 16″ and in the pics you can see its 14″). In terms of styling, I did ask customer service whether the jacket should meet in the middle and they said it should and there is a clasp / button of some sort which should hook the jacket close. There is no clasp / button.
I emailed them and was told to take pics with measurements to show them. The jacket being off is not a huge drama but will be a good test of how good their after sales service is!
Also, the shape of the jacket is not tailored in a particularly flattering manner but then I ain’t no model so not entirely a workmanship fault I guess.http://www.inweddingdress.com/style-jc001.html

Veil.
The poorest outcome of them all. The result looks nothing like the picture and the is mainly due to the material used is too stiff and didn’t drape like in the picture. Wouldn’t recommend buying veils here go buy it in a shop.http://www.inweddingdress.com/style-ve11.html

The verdict:
– Pick a structurally simple dress, expect an 85% look-a-like and you shouldn’t be disappointed.
– Don’t leave it last minute and have a backup plan, my jacket is a good example of how wrong it can turn out.
– Buy your veils (and possibly jackets) elsewhere.
– If buying coloured gowns, prepare for it to not be the colour you see on the screen (obvious but true!)
Wish you all the best with your weddings!

I received my dress on May 25!!! It was shoved in a bag and inside out, but It’s beautiful. You can for sure tell that it’s a knock-off. But that’s fine, I would much rather pay $250.00 for a dress that has a few issues that pay $1100.00 for a dress that I will wear once.
There are a few stitches that need to be tightened. And they are underneath, so I can do that myself. Overall, I am happy that I ordered a simple dress and got what I paid for.

Hello Ladies,
These are a few pictures of my dress. I hope you are able to see the detail fairly clearly. It is beautiful and well tailored. It fits perfectly now. I did not trust them with the exact measurements and sent the bust measurement an inch off. They made it exactly to the measurements I sent. I had to get it ajusted. I hope these pictures help you to make your decisions about your choice to order from inweddingdress.

Just received the dress over the weekend from inweddingdress.com. The package was tiny and the first thing I thought was there is NO way my dress can fit in that thing. I was really hesitant about reading the reviews about the poor packaging but once I opened up the black plastic, I was relieved that the dress had been sealed in a damage-proof bubble brown envelope and then wrapped again in breathable plastic. Nervously I took the dress out and gasped. Not because the dress was disastrous, it was actually the complete opposite. It was beautiful, just like I imagined it to be. The dress I ordered was a replication of Sherri Hill’s Style1002(http://images04.olx.com/ui/3/22/21/61892121_1-Sherri-Hill-Prom-Dress-1002-Pink-.jpg). I had it customized so that the main part of the dress would be in light ivory and the satin sash would be in saffron (One of the colors of my wedding). Inweddingdress used real satin for the sash and it turned out beautifully. The encrusted rhinestones on the side, obviously are not the exact same from the photo but it is a great attempt! For almost $200.00 less, I couldn’t ask for anything that looked more similiar.
Then the time came to try on the dress, I took a deep breath and put it on. The sizing was near perfect. My measurements were followed to the exact specifications. I didn’t try it on with a strapless bra so I am sure that that may be the only reason the top felt a tad bit loose…and I stress “tad”. The dress looked and felt like it was made just for me! I am sooo excited about putting it on during the reception, there is no doubt heads will turn.
I ordered a dress just for the ceremony and it has yet to arrive, but “Helen” said that it would be here this week. I think I have figured inweddingdress.com out after accumulating information from different reviews and sites. If you want a simple dress to be replicated..GO FOR IT! It will more than likely turn out FABULOUSLY and save you LOTS of money if you are on a bridal budget. If you want a detailed and intricate dress, I wouldn’t turn to the website because it is very difficult to mimic another designer’s complex work just from a visual image. Then in the time frame they have (they make each dress from scratch) it seems nearly impossible that they could get it all right in a matter of weeks. The dress that I ordered is very intricate, so I have already set myself up for it. However, the Sherri Hill design looks so great that I told my MOH that I would consider wearing that for my outdoor ceremony. Luckily, I have a back-up plan just in case this other dress turns out to be an abomination. Also, I think that when you try on the original it makes it very very difficult to appreciate the knock-off. In your mind you already know the material you expect to feel, the way the dress should move, the way your hips should be and immediately you begin to identify errors. Do yourself a favor and if you want a “simple” knockoff…get it..and try not to worry to much. If your expectations aren’t dangerously high..you won’t be disappointed with the outcome.

Where do I begin?! I ordered a custom sized Maggie Sottero Hampton dress in Diamond white the end of January 2010 from http://www.inweddingdress.com. I received the dress around 4pm today (March 11, 2010). I was so excited I grabbed my camera and proceeded to open it! This is what it looked like when it arrived.

Package

How does a huge dress like that get shrunk into this tiny package!? They basically saran wrapped the whole dress. They are brilliant because they packaged the dress inside out, so the outside of the dress (which is the most important) would not get ruined if anything happened.

When I took the dress out, it was pretty wrinkly and puffy. Nothing gravity can’t take care of! I will let it hang for a few months and I will retake pictures of the dress and make sure to post it here for you all to see.

The pictures came out a little blurry…sorry. You can’t see the details of the dress with the flash on, so I turned off the flash..which makes the picture a little blurry. Make sure to click on the picture to see the entire thing..the columns cuts off some of the pics.

The front of the dress

top part of the dress

top

The back of the dress

Closeup of the corset

This is me wearing it!.

Do you see how the very top part of the bust is flipping outwards? It’s because the straps are buttoned onto it and tugs on the fabric inside. I think I would wear this dress without the straps so the flipping action doesn’t happen.

Side of the dress.

Back of the dress...GORGEOUS! I LOVE IT!

OK! so I tried on the REAL Maggie Sottero Hampton dress, and all I can say is…this knock off is not EXACTLY the same…but it’s still a pretty nice dress. I wasn’t expecting an exact replica anyway. The real Maggie has a nice silky feel to it. The knock off uses different fabric…it’s just not as soft. I think the fabric feels a little cheap…but maybe it’s because I’ve felt the real silky fabric? The real Maggie also hides your tummy way better than the knock off. The beading is different than the real Maggie….but it still looks nice. The inside of the dress is soft. There are three layers, the inner which is soft that touches your skin, then the fabric that makes it puffy, then the dress itself!

OVERALL: I like this dress and I think this knock off was worth $300 which includes shipping….but I LOVE LOVE LOVE The real Maggie which is around $1400. I guess you get what you pay for? If I didn’t see the real Maggie would I LOVE this knock off? It’s not bad dress. It looks fabulous in the pictures…but in real life..the fabric is not as expensive looking as I would’ve hoped for.

OH! I found a picture of someone wearing the REAL Maggie sottero Hampton shown below so you can compare the real one from the knock off.

I’m curious as to what you think. You’ve seen the pictures. What do you think? Would you buy a knock off wedding dress? I believe if you are not uber picky, then a knock off is not a bad alternative.

If there is anything I left off…let me know! This is my first time reviewing something..so I’m a bit rusty.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions/concerns…or pictures of a knock off dress that you have purchased for your wedding! I would love to hear from all of you!

There is nothing wrong with buying a knock off wedding dress. This blog is dedicated to all brides that don’t want to spend a fortune on a designer wedding dress that they absolutely adore! Such as my dream dress from Maggie Sottero Hampton that is about $1,400! The goal of this blog is to provide knock off wedding dress reviews from every bride that has ordered one.

All of these sites sell this replicated Maggie Sottero Hampton for around $150-$300. That’s a pretty affordable price. How could it be so cheap? I googled each site and hardly found reviews about them. I decided to email http://www.inweddingdress.com and asked them this:

Comment: Hi,

I was wondering if you could send me real photos of the actualy wedding dress that you make for Style DE022? Also, I found a ton of other sites just like yours that sell this dress for less (example lightinthebox.comhouseofbrides.combestdressprice.com)…They are charging around $150.00. Are your dresses higher quality? I would like Style DE022 to be exactly as pictured and the fabric to be the same. Is this possible?. If so, then ordering from you would be good.

looking forward to hearing from you.
Lacy

This is their reply:

Dear Lacy,
Thank you for your interest in our dresses. We use taffeta to make this dress. Sorry that we did not have a complete photos of all the styles, We will custom the dress exactly look like the picture. To be instead, we sent you DE097 which is in similar design for you reference. The photo is taken from our workshop, the photo quality is not very good, only can be taken for your reference.
All our dresses are custom made with the measurements given, we recommend you to order custom size, which is free of charge and also can help the dress fit well, if only your measurements are correct, the dress will be fitted. You could check our how to measure for directions.
If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact us.

I’m pretty nervous to order from any of these sites. I found it hard to find reviews about these sites and I thought all of us brides can share our experiences with these sites on this blog. Please feel free to send me pictures of the REAL dress that you actually received from any of these sites. Please send me detailed reviews about the material, the fit, the stitching..etc. I would gladly post everything for you on this blog.

I am very nervous. I just spent $300 on this dress and I am very eager to get it. I believe the site says that I should receive this dress within a month or two. I will update this blog with pictures and a detail description of the dress once I receive my gorgeous dress.

how to post on this blog

What you see on this blog is what I have received from the beautiful brides kind enough to email me their reviews and pictures. Once I receive an email of the reviews, I start to post them on the blog. Please do not email me asking me if someone has reviewed a particular company. If you don't see it on the blog, then nobody has sent me reviews about that company. Please do not email me asking me to email you pictures. They are ALL on this blog. Thanks. =)